Damsel in Distress
by DeLyse
Summary: Written for the "Damsel in Distress Challenge" at dokuga contest on livejournal. Sesshoumaru realizes that Kagome has kept him from many a victory against Inuyasha. Eliminating her would solve all his problems. Right? Sess/Kag
1. The Answer

_Disclaimer - Inuyasha and all characters associated to that intellectual property belong to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz. This story, including all places, people, or objects, is written for non-profit entertainment purposes only._

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**The miko had to die. It was the only answer.

Sesshoumaru sat on a moss laden bolder that overlooked a rocky hillside, one knee bent with which to lay his arm across. A few days had passed since the incident with his brother, when he was so very close to having Tessaiga once and for all. Sesshoumaru had been visited by a peculiar being before then, a one Naraku, who covered himself in a ridiculous, and yet decidedly disturbing, baboon skin. But this Sesshoumaru knew better than to judge a character by his external appearance. Naraku promptly offered to him a new arm – a human arm – embedded with a sacred jewel, explaining that because the arm was human, he would be able to wield Tessaiga against his brother, as it should be.

Sesshoumaru most definitely had the upper hand when he arrived to meet his annoying hanyou brother after being given the new arm, but in the end it was that miko wench who, once again, managed to surprise the living hell out of him and almost cause him a narrow defeat. This time around, she had a weapon – a bow. And dared to fire it at him. More than once.

Interference. It seemed to be a reoccurring theme with her, one in which he found both peculiar and highly irritating. The first time she had interfered in matters involving himself and Inuyasha, when they waged battle at his father's final resting place, he had lost his arm because she aided the hanyou in claiming Tessaiga. There was no doubt in his mind that she was the obstacle now, and the only thing he regretted was being too dense, too overconfident to see it before.

He would not repeat his mistakes.

Of course, after thinking it over, Sesshoumaru came to the conclusion that he did not actually need a sword like Tessaiga when his power easily surpassed the weapon. It was nothing more than a toy compared to his own raw power, and he wondered if part of the reason why their father chose Inuyasha to wield the Tessaiga was to bring the hanyou to a level of strength closer to his own, so that his power level would be a bit more parallel to his brother's.

No matter the case, he did not care. Not anymore.

His thoughts wondered back to the girl, as they seemed to have been doing of their own accord for the past few days. His decision to end her life was not one brought on by revenge, nor was it anything close to hatred. True, he despised her, but that was only for the most obvious of reasons – she was human, and on top of that, his half brother's companion. But he could not hate her. He could not hate someone who continued to surprise him at every turn. He had to admit it. The disgusting human was so much more than what she let on – perhaps even more than what she her self could ever realize.

Silently, the taiyoukai stood from his spot on the boulder, amber-gold eyes glaring down at the sleeping toad youkai expectantly. "Jaken."

In a tumble of little arms and legs, Jaken woke immediately and lowered his head all the way to the ground in a deep bow. "Forgive me, Sesshoumaru-Sama! I only meant to wait for you until you were ready to leave this area!" he cried, delving into explanations as though they were the only thing keeping him alive and breathing. "If you are ready to go, I would be more than happy to… Sesshoumaru-Sama?"

The toad youkai chanced a peek up, then cried out in a panic at the sight of the Lord of the Western Lands walking steadily further and further away from him. He scuttled to his feet, the Staff of Two Heads firmly in his little grip, and hurried to catch up.

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- Posted on livejournal for the Damsel in Distress Challenge at dokuga(underscore)contest. Prompt : Dense


	2. Unaware

**AN** : I don't like to do author notes, so I'll make this quick. I'm moving to a place with zero internets, so updating will slow down immensely. I won't be gone forever, though. I'm like a villain in a horrible eight-part movie - I _always _come back. =P

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Kagome halfheartedly scrubbed at the impossible stain on her little, green skirt. No matter how hard she tried to concentrate on the vibrant purple, puzzle-shaped stain – remnants of a fight with a lesser youkai earlier that morning – her mind tarried, opting to stray far from the current task in favor of pondering on the matters of her heart.

Part of her wondered just how much more of this she could stand to take. Though, she remained unsure of what her feelings were for Inuyasha, one thing was unequivocally true – she did harbor _some_ kind of feelings for him. Deep feelings. How else could she explain that strange, sinking whirlpool in the core of her being whenever she looked upon the hanyou's face after the mention of the deceased miko, Kikyou? There was no mistaking anything. Inuyasha cared for Kikyou. Kagome was a friend.

A friend whose fondness for him had grown substantially during the course of their journey.

Kagome stopped scrubbing to sigh audibly. It was an action she had repeated so often in the past twenty minutes of doing her laundry that she was no longer aware that she was doing it. In fact, she was so unaware of anything that was happening around her that she hadn't even felt the presence of two, golden eyes that had been carefully observing her for the past ten.

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It astonished him, how she could carry on washing her strange clothing in the river without noting anything around her. Once, he had crushed a twig beneath him on purpose to try and startle her attention to the forefront. Twice, he had growled at her – not loud, but just low enough to vibrate the air. He was sure that she would have sensed the ripple in the air around her, but to his utter bewilderment, she only sighed in response.

_Something must be bothering this miko_, he decided. For her to be so far from the hanyou and his other packmates was borderline idiotic. She must have wanted this time alone to think quietly to herself, which would explain the reckless abandonment of her attention to potential threats outside of her mind. And the noisy way in which she constantly exhaled.

Sesshoumaru crept a little closer toward her, completely concealed by the thick underbrush behind which he veiled himself, yet close enough to reach out and touch her if he wished – maybe even close enough to taste her. He observed her fingers with a keen interest as she continued rubbing out the stain on her odd garment. Such small, thin little digits she had, tipped with…claws? Taken aback by the sudden discovery, Sesshoumaru leaned closer toward her, his face partially exposed now through the leafy bushes behind her, and narrowed his eyes on her fingers. Yes, the human actually had claws! Though, thin and brittle they appeared, they were long, and despite their rounded off tips and flat shape, he was pretty sure they could tear flesh if need be. _Intriguing…_

In all his reign, Sesshoumaru had never been this near to a human before. At least, one that he had yet to kill. He had never cared to study them, for there had never been any need. They were small, frail little things, only a threat in numbers, and usually only to themselves. There was nothing significant about them or their lives. Or deaths, for that matter. But now, being so close to this miko, he suddenly wondered just how different he was from her. He needed to get closer.

A ghost of a smirk danced across his thin lips as a delicious little thought abruptly hit him. Carefully, Sesshoumaru allowed a small portion of his masked youki aura to seep out and touch the frays of the miko's senses. He decided that instead of tasting her, it would be more appropriate to let her have a taste of him first.

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Kagome sighed again. The youkai blood refused to erase itself from her skirt. _Mom's gonna kill me if she has to replace my uniform, _she thought fretfully. With renewed resolve, she dunked the green garment beneath the surface of the calm, clear water of the river and then laid it out on the long, flat rock at her side to begin the process of soap, lather, and rinse all over again. And, as predicted, her mind wondered away within not even one minute of continuing the monotonous task.

All at once, her heart stopped and started again with a vengeance. The strong, nearly overpowering aura of a greater youkai slammed into her with such force, she was rendered momentarily senseless – her vision wavered, her throat clenched, and the world suddenly shifted into a surreal, dream-like representation of what everything was supposed to be, like an abstract movie happening right before her very eyes. The sensation stole her breath, literally ripped it from her chest, leaving her lungs stunned and still until lack of air flow began to send painful reminders that she needed to breathe. Realizing that she had hopped to her feet, she gazed down with blurred vision and noticed her suddenly light hands. Her school uniform! Kagome was completely unaware she had dropped the thing, and would have been more upset about it now riding down the river on the lazy currents if it had not been for the sudden sense in youkai power that nearly blinded her being.

Kagome felt like a drunken man being dunked beneath ice cold water as a surge of adrenaline washed over her mind and vision to bring her extreme clarity. She darted her almond brown eyes about in a panic, looking, searching, trying to notice anything out of the ordinary, or anything that resembled an immediate threat. When the hidden youkai's overwhelming aura crashed into her once again, she was ready for it. Perhaps her innate miko powers had kicked in now, protecting her from being completely debilitated from the phenomenon? Whatever it was, she was awake and alert, and she spun on her heels as she sensed the youkai from somewhere behind her.

With a gasp, Kagome came quite plainly face to face with the taiyoukai, Sesshoumaru. Before she could move, or scream, or even blink, he pounced, shoving her down to hit the ground hard on her back. She opened her mouth to cry out in pain, but he would not oblige her as he landed on top of her and slapped a clawed, calloused hand to her mouth, effectively shutting her up and keeping her held down at once. A muffled protest escaped her nostrils, and she tried not to gag as blood trickled across her tongue toward the back of her throat. In a desperate attempt to flee, she wrapped her fingers around his wrist and dug her nails into him, but the only response she received was an impassive stare, as though her effort to escape bored him.

_Oh Kami, he's going to kill me_, she suddenly realized with a pitiful groan.

Sesshoumaru snarled at her in displeasure and leaned in closer to her face, causing her to shut her eyes tightly. Painfully, he jerked her head to one side, then the other, sending the long, raven hair that had cascaded over her face in the commotion to splay out over her head. Her neck was completely exposed. Another muffled moan found its way past the hand pressed hard against her mouth as she waited for him to rip her to shreds in a whirl of claws and fangs, but to her complete bafflement, nothing happened. He just held her there, silently.

Kagome was afraid to open her eyes. Oh heavens, was she ever afraid! But curiosity always seemed to get the better of her. Swallowing a bit of blood, she cautiously drew her lids back and moved her eyes to the side to find his face. All she could see was a curtain of silver hair to her right gleaming in the afternoon sunlight, for his face escaped her peripheral. One thing was certain, however – he was close to her, very close.

Kagome's pupils widened the size of the Shikon no Tama when Sesshoumaru's nose very suddenly brushed the rim of her ear.

Sesshoumaru must have sensed her sudden tensing, as he rolled her head back to him so that she could face him. Kagome was a mess of conflicting emotions now – confusion, shock, disbelief. His expression never changed. He still looked thoroughly disgusted by her presence. And yet, his eyes betrayed him, showing her nothing but interest and complete astonishment. It was almost like…he was _studying_ her.

When the tears finally pooled in the corners of her eyes to the point of overflowing, they fell hot and fast. Sesshoumaru's attention snapped abruptly to gaze. Though, she was still utterly terrified, Kagome's protests all but vanished. Her lips slowly began to numb as the pressure of his hand cut off feeling around her mouth. She watched him uncertainly as he watched her inquisitively; her tears still free flowing like a broken faucet. Her breathing quickened as he cautiously lowered his head toward her face, hovering just over his hand while his nose took in her scent like a little vacuum.

All at once, the taiyoukai's head jerked up and a low, rumbling growl reverberated from his chest, causing Kagome's heart to nearly stop again. In a flash, he was stood, glaring at her as though she had forced him off of her by means of something he could not counter, and then disappeared immediately into the confines of the forest.

Kagome laid there on her back in a daze. What in Kami's name just happened?! Her mind desperately struggled to process the information as tiny reminders of Sesshoumaru's strange visit let her know that what she experienced was completely real and not just a dream or hallucination. Her back pulsed with a dull ache from the impact of the ground, and her lip now began to swell slightly where her tooth had cut into it after she was painfully silenced by a merciless hand. Yes, it really happened. Yes, she was alive. No, she had no idea what to think of what just happened.

Inuyasha's voice rang out in the air, heavy with anxiety. Kagome struggled to sit upright as the hanyou bounded toward her in an alarming flash of red, but found herself surprised when she began sorting out the events in her mind to explain them in such a way that would justify Sesshoumaru's uncharacteristic actions. _It wasn't like what he did was right,_ she reminded herself. _But, then again, it wasn't like he was trying to _kill_ me…_

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- Posted on livejournal for the Damsel in Distress Challenge at dokuga(underscore)contest. Prompt : Drop


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